Shortline guys - How do you train or think differently?

[NameUnavailable]

I ski about the same as @Horton so not sure my tips are that different.

I did live in Orlando and got to drive for some of the best skiers in the world in tournaments and practice. One thing they did in practice across the board is run 32 over and over. Then often skip to 38 and run it. The other thing one did frequently is start the second set at 39 right out of the boat. That always amazed me, but I am easily amazed.

[matthewbrown]

I think the most important concept one needs to have in the back of their mind at shortline, is the ability to keep ones hips and shoulders on top of their feet from the 2nd wake to the buoy. As Adam Caldwell pointed out we are jockeying for positioning at the finish of the turn through centerline. That jockeying isn’t necessarily a heavy tug, rather it’s a fight to keep your shoulders over your hips which should be squarely on top of your feet. That gives me the best position to hold the load without feeling it but more importantly it sets me up to get all I can through the transition and high on the boat. Too many peoples idea of stack is really an angled stack. With an angled stack your body is in alignment with itself but not in relation to the ski. Hips are up and very close to the handle, shoulders are high, legs are relatively straight, yet most of the skiers mass is behind their bindings. Hence the inability to keep the ski flatter through the transition causing a harder edge change and a narrower/lower ski path. The more on top of the ski I can be through the transition, the less the ski smears early and the more potential smear I’ll have available for the actual turn. But if I had to say what should one do about this, I’d say it starts at the finish of the turn to centerline, work to keep up with your ski as you are holding your leveraged position and don’t let it escape from under you.

[6balls]

@adamhcaldwell super cool nugget there!

[Horton]

@matthewbrown super good stuff as always but I am befuddled by your following statement.

The more on top of the ski I can be through the transition, the less the ski smears early and the more potential smear I’ll have available for the actual turn.

 

can you expand on that?

[Adam Caldwell]

@Horton...I am a little confused by that also.

 

[jeidmann]

Interesting, so all the talk about managing ZeroOff and keeping the line light is bunk? I'm with Horton, I'm conflicted as well. I often tend to pull too hard on my gate and carry too much speed into 1 ball. I find that if I pull smoother and earlier I'm still wide/early for 1 and can carve a better turn (LFF). I've been told I'm "working too hard" on my longer line passes. Caveat all this with 35 off being my shortest full pass.

 

FWIW, I ski cold up the line on my first set, treating it like a tournament, and then work on my last line length from that set in my next set, and then finish up with a few 28 offs.

 

[mike_mapple]

@Horton My dad did similar to you, his typical day the last few years was 32,35,39,41 done, he rarely skied more than 4 passes.

 

Some days we would go 38 off the dock, but that was only right before events, and they were always sloppy by his standards. I asked him why he did that, and he told me he wanted to be prepared incase he wanted to do it.

 

But he was a big preacher on if you know you can do a pass easy, make it easier.

[6balls]

@mike_mapple I always love hearing your stories about your Dad! The GOAT.

[PatM]

@mike_mapple I bet you could easily write a book about your dad and his way of doing things. It would be on every Baller's coffee table.

[matthewbrown]

@mike_mapple in 2000 I skied a set with your dad in the boat, it was my first time running 39@36 and it was all because of how fired up he got me, and probably the driver. I was stoked and then he went out and ran 28,32,35,38,39,41 and 3@43 and I was like, ok so that’s how it’s done. He did the same exact thing on set #2, and there I was starting at 32 off. Humbled me pretty quickly.

[rockdog]

@matthewbrown I'd have paid good money to have been in the boat that day..